The White Knight is a fictional character in

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's 1871 book ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

''. He represents the

chess piece A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either White and Black in chess, white or black, and it can be one of six types: King (chess), king, Queen (chess), queen, Rook (chess ...

of the same name. As imagined in

John Tenniel Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914)Johnson, Lewis (2003), "Tenniel, John", ''Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Web. Retrieved 12 December 2016. was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and poli ...

's illustrations for the ''Alice'' stories, he is inspired by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

's 1513 engraving "

Knight, Death and the Devil ''Knight, Death and the Devil'' (german: Ritter, Tod und Teufel) is a large 1513 engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer, one of the three ''Meisterstiche'' (master prints) completed during a period when he almost ceased to work in paint ...

Storyline

The White Knight saves Alice from his opponent (the Red Knight). He repeatedly falls off his horse and lands on his head, and tells Alice of his inventions, which consists of things such as a pudding with ingredients like blotting paper, an upside down container, and anklets to guard his horse against shark bites. He recites a poem of his own composition, 'A-Sitting on a Gate', (but the song's ''name'' is called '

Haddocks' Eyes "Haddocks' Eyes" is a song sung by The White Knight from Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', chapter VIII. "Haddocks' Eyes" is an example used to elaborate on the symbolic status of the concept of "name": a name as iden ...

') and he and Alice depart.

Film incarnations

* ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1933) Played by

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

* The White Knight was planned to appear in Disney's 1951 movie, but the idea got scrapped. Alice had to meet him at the Tulgey Wood, where the White Knight (supposed to be a caricature of Walt Disney himself) tried to lift her spirit up after the girl gets lost. Few concept art pictures of the White Knight survive. * ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1955) (TV) Played by

Reginald Gardiner William Reginald Gardiner (27 February 1903 – 7 July 1980) was an English actor on the stage, in films and on television. Early years Gardiner was born in Wimbledon, England, and he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Katz, ...

* '' Alice in Wonderland (or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?)'' (1966) (TV) Played by

Bill Dana William Szathmary (October 5, 1924 June 15, 2017), known as Bill Dana, was an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He often appeared on television shows such as ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', frequently in the guise of a heavily accented Boli ...

* ''Alice Through the Looking Glass'' (1974) (TV) Played by Geoffrey Bayldon * ''Alisa v Zazerkalie'' ("Alice through the Looking-Glass") (1982) (Soviet cartoon) Voiced by

Nikolai Karachentsov Nikolai Petrovich Karachentsov (russian: Николай Петрович Караченцов, 27 October 1944 – 26 October 2018) was a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor of Lenkom Theatre. Karachentsov's popularity peaked in the late 197 ...

* ''Alice in Wonderland'' 1982 (TV) Played by Stephen Boe * ''Great Performances'': "Alice in Wonderland" (1983) TV episode, Played by

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

* ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1985) (TV) Played by

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

* ''Alice Through the Looking Glass'' (1987) (TV) Played by

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles includ ...

* ''

Chess Wars ''Chess Wars'' (fully titled as ''Chess Wars: A Medieval Fantasy'') is a 1996 computer chess game released for DOS by WizardWorks and developed by Art Data Interactive and Digital Arena Software. It is the last game to be released by Art Data Int ...

'' (1996) Played by Kirk B.R. Woller * ''Alice Through the Looking Glass'' (1998) (TV) Played by

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

* ''Alice Underground'' (1999) Played by Chris Danuser * ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1999) (TV) Played by

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

* ''The Slick White Rabbit'' (2005) Played by Steve Furedy * ''Alice'' (2009) (TV) Played by

Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...

* In the

2010 movie In the year 2010, there was a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking after the success of ''Avatar'' in the format, with releases such as '' Alice in Wonderland'', '' Clash of the Titans'', '' Jackass 3D'', all ...

, the White Knight is one of the White Queen's soldiers. He looks almost exactly like the real chess piece where he has the head of a horse.

References

* * Lewis Carroll characters Fictional knights Literary characters introduced in 1871 {{child-lit-char-stub